The Seven Deadly Sins of Agency-land: Envy

I remember one such forum where the media agency decided to blindside the creative agency – its own sister company, no less – by unveiling its own set of creative work in front of the client. Classic case of pissing directly in the paddling pool you were invited to sit in. Bonus twist: the creative agency had actually been the one to recommend that media agency in the first place. Family, eh?

But if you really want to see tension levels spike, just bring up the client’s “In-house Studio.” Better yet, refer to it as their “In-house Agency.” Cue the frosty smiles and the subtle scraping of chairs as egos start preparing for battle.

And here’s the kicker: this paranoia is actively encouraged. On one side, clients believe a little rivalry will sharpen performance and keep costs down. (Then they act surprised when the agencies don’t play nicely.) On the other side, senior level agency execs encourage their agencies against to battle for account share, then act shocked when the client complains no one’s collaborating. It’s like watching toddlers being told to share their toys by parents who are actively stealing them behind their backs.

But things are shifting. And interestingly, that shift isn’t coming from the top-heavy networks; it’s being led by smaller, independent agencies. Why? Well, I can’t speak for all of them, but here’s why it works for us at Animo:

1. No egos, no empires. We’re not driven by aggressive shareholder demands or bonus-fuelled KPIs. Our success is measured in the strength and longevity of our relationships; not how much of someone else’s lunch we’ve eaten.
2. Confidence over competition. We know our work is good, we’ve trained under some of the best creative and strategic minds in the business. So we’re not threatened by great work. We admire it.
3. Transparent pricing. We don’t have bloated overheads or mysterious mark-ups. Our costs are lean, honest and hard to challenge, because there’s nothing hidden in them.
4. Flexible, not territorial. If a client wants to use us to support their in-house team, we’re happy to play that role. We’ve done it effectively with brands like Octopus Investments. We’re there to bolt on, not barge in.

All of that frees us up to actually appreciate other agencies’ work, because we’re not intimidated by it. We don’t see in-house studios as kryptonite. We see them as potential collaborators. Extensions of the team, not threats to it.

That’s not to say clients don’t occasionally try to play agencies off against one another on cost. But the truth is, with our stripped-back model, our rates tend to be 60–70% lower than other agencies of comparable quality. And since we’re not shackled by big overheads or obsessed with quarterly wins, we’re quite happy to politely walk away from any client trying to turn collaboration into a cage match.

Next week, we tackle a more seductive sin: Lust. Or as it’s known in agency terms – Chasing shiny things at the expense of the right things.